Lifeboat



G. DORFFEL.

LIFEBOAT.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 10. 1919.

Patented Aug. 31, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1- WITNESSES MmLM/L e; J y 34 43;, ATTORNEYS G. DORFFEL.

LIFEBOAT.

APPLlCATION FILED SEPT. 10. 1919.

WI TNESSES entree ST ES Parent orric Original application filed May '14, isle-serial No. 297,015.

Specification of Lettersl atent Patented Aug. 2 1, 1920. Divided and this application filed September 10, "1919. Serial No. 322,773.

To aZZwiwm it may concern: r

Be it known that I, GEORGE DORFFEL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of W est Seattle, in the county of King and State of Washington, have invented new and Improved Lifeboats, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. r

This invention relates to life boats, and has reference more particularly to life boat's or escape buoys for use with submarine vessels. The invention also relates to a submarine vessel having a life boat asso-' ciated therewith, and so arranged that it can be readily released in case of emergency and is itself preferably capable of submarine operation. I

The object of the invcntionis to provide a life boat or escape buoy for submarine vessels, which can be easily and quickly launched, which is carried in position by the submarine vessel, so that interior access thereto can be had at all times before launching, the launching and operation of which will not readily be interfered with. by stress of weather, and which will; not unfavorably affect the normal operation or maneuvering of the's ubmarine vessel. 7 The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts to be more fully described hereinafter and particularly set. forth in the claims. l

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views, and in which Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a life boat of my invention, showing the same mounted in a crib or carrier of the main submarine; v Fig. 2 is a plan View of the life boat and its crib or carrier;

"Fig. 3 is a partial, transverse section, showing certain of-the details of construction of the life boat;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, transverse section on the line 44 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, fragmentary, side elevation of a detail of construction. 7

One of'the disadvantages incident to the operation of submarines, both for military and mercantile purposes, is found in the difficulty ofiproviding suitable life-saving equipment for the submarine, which will when necessary.

not interfere with the normal operationor maneuvering'of the submarine,andfwill not materially reduce its speed. Furthermore, in providing-such life boats orescape" buoys it has-been found difficult to have them accessible at all times to the crewof the submarine, and to carry them in such a :way that they can be readily'lauiiched, regardless of weather conditions. One of the primary purposes of my invention [is tojprovide a life boat to insure the safe escape. of the crew of the submarine, in case'of accident. Itwill be understood that this type of life boat can be employed with submarines of all kinds, and is not restricted for its utility to any particular type. Many of the details of construction shown herewith for exam-j ple, form no part of my invention and may be varied as desirable or necessary. 0 l

The present application is a division of my application Serial No. 297,015, filed May 14, 1919, for submarinevessels.

My life boat E is preferably in the form of a small, auxiliaryjsubmarme in general type similar to the submarine C ofmy ap plication Serial No. 297,015, above mentioned. However, while complet'ely closed,

it is not necessarily proyided with ldiving controls.

mechanism and g It is provided w th hatches 89 havinghatch covers '90 and I cover-securingmeans 91. It also has propel ling mechanism 92,.similar to that of the said submarine C, and connected with a pr peller 93, and is provided with the usual rudder 94 operated from a steering wheel 95. It also hasan' air pump'96 and-air pipes 97 by means of which the air can be renewed H It is likewise proyided with a periscope 98 and has the usual compartments 99 and 100.

' In order to afford communication between the mother submarine and the lifeboat, the'wall of the former. hasan opening 101 surrounded byan offset coaming 102. A; tapered, hollow member 103 extends. from an opening 104 in the wall ofthe lifeboat, through the opening 101, it being provided with a lateral flange105 seating against the wall ofthe'lifeboat about the 7 opening 104;, An annulanhtapered frame 106, having a lateral flange 107, fits into the opening 10 1, withits flange seating against the inside; of the wall ofthe life boat. It has a hinged cover 108' adapted to seat against the flange 107 andto close the open coaming 102. The cover plate 110 is adapted to seat against the inner rim of themember 103, to close the opening.

the cover plate, and has a centrallypositioned bolt 113, adapted to engage the cover plate and to secure it in position. I

V The lifeiboatcarrier consists of a sub stantially rectangular frame of suitable plate metal, ends 116 inclined outwardly from the wall of the mother submarine, and forming a substantially rectangular opening into which the life boat fits, and in which it rests securely. These parts are respectively inclined with respect to the side '01 the vessel and are arranged to offer a minimum resistance to its passage through the water. The edge of the bottom 115 has an inturned flange 117 to afford a seat of suitable surface for the bottom of the life boat.- To strengthen the carrier, braces 118 are secured between the wall of the mother submarine 1 and the top, bottom and ends of the carrier.

. It will readily be understood that by turn- The life boat is secured in place in the carrier, by means of a plurality of chains 119,

shown for example as eightv in number. Each of these chains has one extremity secured to an eye-bolt 120 passing through a suitable sleeve 121 in the wall of the mother submarine. 'A bracket 122 extends over each of the sleeves 121 and has an opening to receive the threaded end of the eye-bolt. Holding and adjusting nuts 123 on the threaded end of the eye-bolt engage the bracket. By means 0:": these bolts the chains *can be tightened and adjusted when HGCGS':

sary. The'chains are arranged in pairs, one passing over the top of the lite boat and the other under the bottom. The life boat for each. such. pair of chains is provided with a drum 124k passing through an opening in the outer side wall and positioned-in bearings and 126 which are mounted in a sleeve 127 disposed in the opening in the wall. A

collar128 is secured to the inside of the life boat and encompasses the sleeve, having a flange 129 which 'fits closely about the sleeve. it the outer or projecting end, the drum has a pair of hooks 130 each adapted to engage a link of the chain, as is shown in Fig.12;

ing the drum, the chains can" be wound thereupon to tighten them. Conversely, when it .is desired to release the lite boat, the drums need merely be turned until the "hooks disengage from the chains, and the boat is free to slide from the carrier. At the inner end, each drum has a head 131 provided with peripheral sockets 132 in-whieh can be 1nserted an operating bar or lever to A yoke 112 'is' mounted upon the coaming, extending over having a top 114, a bottom 115,

facilitate the turning of the drum, The latter also has adjacent to the head 131, a

ratchet 133 with which cooperates apawl 1341, so that the drum can be held in any adjusted position. The pawl 13% is mounted on a stud 135 carried by a bracket arm 136.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent V 1. In combination, a submarine vessel, a lifeboat carrier mounted thereon,alife boat seated in said carrier, andflexible means exteriorly ofithe submarine and of the life boat for securing saidlife boat in position, said means vbeing adjustable from within said submarine vessel and being releasable from within said life boat.

2. In combination, a submarine vessel, a

life boat carrier mounted exteriorly thereon, a life boat supported in said carrier, a chain secured at one end to and Xtending from said vessel for securing at its free end, said life boat in position, 1neans operable from within said submarine vessel for adjusting the tension o1 said chain, and means operable from within said life boat for releasing the free end of said chain from the life boat. 5 3. In combination, a submarine vesselhaving a life boat carrier at one side thereof, a life boat seated in saidcarrier, a chain for holding said life boat in position, means for securing one end of said chain to said submarine vessel, and a drum extending from within said life boat and havingmeans exteriorly of the lifeboat for engagement with said chain;

4:. In combination, a submarine vessel having a life boat carrier at the side thereof and a drum extending laterally from within said asement lifeboat and having means for en g with the'free ends of said chains, means w thin said liiieboat for operating said drum to secure or release said chains, and means Ior holdingsaid drum in different ad usted positions.

5. In combination, a submarine vessel having a lifeboat carrier at one side thereof and entirely outside the said vesseh'said carrier comprising a sloping top, end and bottom walls, said walls conver ing from the sides of the submarine vessel to form an opening to receive a lifeboat, a lifeboat in said open- 7 ing, the bottonrwall having a transversely extending flange constituting a seat and support for said lifeboat, and means for removably securing the said lifeboat in said carrier.

enonen 'nonrrEL. 

